Alpha
by Lulu-ichigo
Summary: On the night after Tsuna takes the title of 'Decimo', Giotto visits him to reveal a hidden power of the Vongola rings and through this, Tsuna realizes the true meaning and role of the Sky; the true meaning behind the words: '…accepts and embraces all'.
1. Prologue

**A/N:** I am disappoint with meself. I always lose inspiration for my other fics overtime…T_T and then plotbunnies multiply in my head like…well, bunnies. I need to release some of them before my head explodes. So here it is. Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: Amano owns.

* * *

><p>Tsuna loosened his tie and exhaled long.<p>

Tonight, he is now known as Vongola Decimo – Boss of the Vongola Famiglia of Sicily, the most powerful Mafia family in the world.

A wave of goose bumps invaded his skin.

He felt unbelievably awake, his senses tingling still from the ceremony earlier. He remembered Nono's declaration ringing repeatedly in the large venue where the ceremony was held. Tsuna could still feel the hundreds of eyes scrutinizing his form; they were staring at him like crows, their beady eyes gleaming dully in the warm light. He remembered Reborn standing just in front of the crowds of Mafioso, smirking a bit peculiarly at the situation before him.

It was surreal – just a year or two ago (he couldn't remember clearly) he was just a normal human being with a normal life and yet the arrival of an infant claiming to be a Mafia hitman changed it all.

So sudden; and yet now, it all made sense.

Tsuna sighed deeply, feeling the tug of exhaustion on his eyes.

He sat up and stretched, and a gleam of blue caught his attention.

It was his ring; the ring that symbolized everything – his status, his identity, and his fate. Decimo traced the smooth edges of the circle and for a moment he thought that it was getting brighter and brighter by every passing second.

It was unexpected; surprising.

"Congratulations, _Decimo_." his deep, calm, and ghostly voice echoed silently in his room.

Tsuna stared wide eyed at the figure floating just in front of him, and he realized his ring _was_ glowing a minute before. "G-Giotto-san?... I … Thank you." His reply was abrupt; he did not want to take the title in the first place after all, and receiving a congratulatory greeting from a predecessor is quite awkward.

"You're most welcome," The charming blond man smiled lightly, making him a bit embarrassed, since he looked like he just read his mind. "I see you are very tired, and a good night's sleep would be the greatest gift this great great _great_ grandfather of yours could give you, but you must pardon my intrusion from that luxury for I must show you something important."

The brunet's eyes flickered curiosity and caution at the same time, while Giotto's seemed to harden. "Decimo, you do know you hold thousands of lives in your hands in this very moment, do you not?"

"Y-Yes. I…I am aware of that fact."

"You are a very _very_ powerful man now Decimo." Primo said slowly. "And great power, as they say, comes with greater responsibility. I do not doubt your abilities and morals. You are a good young man – kind and compassionate, and I am very proud to have my blood run in your veins. But you are awfully young, too young in fact, and I fear that you do not fully grasp the circumstances your title holds."

Tsuna nodded once, eyes locked on his ancestor's golden ones.

"As the Sky, you are to understand and accept all. Is that correct?"

"Yes."

"Can you accept and understand everyone in your family, Decimo? _Everyone_? Even the lowest of your ranks?"

Tsuna paused. "I don't think…I can do that so easily. The Vongola is too large – there are so many people; too many for me to even remember them by face."

"You must, because that is your role." The blond man continued. "It is your allies that makes you strong, remember that. You must build trust. Trust changes everything. You wanted to change the Vongola, did you not?"

"Yes. Yes, I do."

"Trust is the key. If it is not possible to know everyone fully, then you must at least understand their situations and feelings. Alright. Now," Giotto looked like he shifted as if he was sitting, "Tell me something about your guardians that _you_ only know of."

"Huh?" Decimo blinked. "My guardians?"

"Yes, yes, go on."

He didn't know where to start. He didn't consider his friends as his guardians in the first place, so that the mere mention of the word, (as everyone liked to call them,) is quite uncomfortable to him. "Uh… Gokudera-kun ran away from home when he was little."

"Yes, and then?"

"Yamamoto…has a little insecurity problem."

"Then…?"

"…"

"What about your cloud? Tell me something about that peculiar young man."

"He's…" Tsuna paused once again and realized that he did not know anything about Hibari; that he was contented that they existed as they are, and that he did not even care to get to know the man that helped him through many instances that involved life and death.

And that goes the same for all of them, even Yamamoto and Gokudera, who were his best friends.

They are his best friends, yet he does not know a single significant detail about them.

"Listen to me Decimo." Vongola Primo began with a stern voice, "What I am about to show you is an ability of the Vongola Rings. There is a hidden tradition among the Bosses where this power is used when a new one ascends to rule. Do you still remember what axis the Vongola rings reign in the Trinisette?"

"The vertical axis," Tsuna replied. "The Vongola rings survive through time."

"That is correct. While the Mare rings enable it's user to 'jump' from parallel worlds to another, since its reign is on the horizontal axis; the Vongola rings enables it's bearer to travel _across_ time."

The brunet blinked once.

"We're going to time travel?"

There was a hint of worry and surprise in his tone. Tsuna developed a light phobia on time travel after his encounter with Byakuran, and the mere thought of travelling again – whether to the future or to the past – made him slightly uncomfortable.

"Yes, we are, Decimo." Giotto answered and moved a little bit closer to his distant grandson. "We are going to travel back in time; to a time where you can meet your guardians while they are still young."

Primo held his hand out anteriorly. "Place your ring close to my hand."

Tsuna wanted to say something more, but decided that he should ask questions later. He did as told, and when his ring touched the 'X' of his predecessor's glove, a blinding light emerged from it and enveloped them.

"_Decimo,"_ Giotto's voice was warm and soft, "_Remember every detail you see. Sear them on your heart and soul. Treat them like your own memories and adopt the emotions they will display. There may be lives that would appear highly unpleasant and hurtful, but you must accept it wholly. These people make who you are._

"_These are the lives of your guardians."_

And the next time Tsuna opened his eyes he saw himself sitting on wooden panels, with the smell of green tea flooding his nostrils. His clumsy chestnut brown eyes wandered eastward and saw two people sitting next to each other.

A child was sitting beside a beautiful petite woman with warm caramel eyes similar to his. She had slanted eyes – like a doll's – and had long, flowing ink black hair. Her skin was porcelain white and her lips were a great contrast for they were a deep shade of vermillion.

Tsuna ogled at the stunning lady for a few moments more before his attention went back to the boy swinging his legs back and forth as he listened to the woman. The boy who looked like he was around six years old had the same inky black locks, but his eyes were oddly pale – they were grey.

He looked familiar, Tsuna thought to himself. And that was when it hit him.

He was staring at his cloud guardian, Hibari Kyoya.


	2. Passion and Poison

**A/N**: Welcome to another instalment of Alpha! (slow update is slow *is shot*)

First of all, thank you for those who reviewed this little series! I've long forgotten the feeling of waiting for people to review my work…and I'm happy that I got to feel that again. XD thank you very much once again!

You guys were pretty excited to see 6 year old Hibari-san, weren't you? XD okay. For this chapter I had to use some of **Sushibomb**-san's headcannon from her amazing work, **'Classified Information'**. I had asked her if she could lend me her idea, but unfortunately, she has not replied yet. But I had already written down the bit that I borrowed so... T_T I'm really sorry, I couldn't wait any longer. But I give all the credit to her, concerning her idea. Please visit her stories – especially the ones about the Varia. They are just **AWESOME**. XD

And another thing, I apologize for the mistake I made in the first chapter; the bit about Giotto's gloves. It should have been 'I', not 'X'. Thank you for **Rekishichizu**-**san** for noticing that embarrassing mistake. XD

Oh yeah, before I forget, to those who has a **Tumblr** account, I've created a **KHR askblog**. It's **ask – tyl tsuna . tumblr . com**. Just remove the spaces and you're good to go. If you're bored or want to RP or just curious, send me an ask and I'll reply with a drawing or some other shit.

Okay. On to the story!~

**Disclaimer**: Amano owns KHR. **Sushibomb's** idea is hers.

XXX

"…_. In the golden lightning__  
><em>_ Of the sunken sun,__  
><em>_ O'er which clouds are bright'ning,__  
><em>_ Thou dost float and run;__  
><em>_Like an unbodied joy whose race is just begun… "_

-excerpt from _'To a Skylark'_ by P.B. Shelley (1792-1822).

XXX

He could not _believe_ what he was seeing.

"Can you tell me what this is?"

"That's a lion."

"That's correct, Kyoya. And lions are…?"

"_Carnivores_. They hunt weaker animals."

"Very good." The woman smiled sweetly at the young cloud guardian as she smoothed his hair.

"Mother?"

"Yes?"

"Why do lions stay with other lions?"

"Lions need other lions because it's difficult for them to hunt when they are alone. They tackle large prey, like wildebeests, and hunting them isn't very easy. They can get killed."

A pause.

"I don't understand."

The petite woman smiled once more.

"Sometimes, even if you're really _really_ strong, you still need company to help you out. You _still_ need friends. That's the way it is."

Another pause.

"I thought carnivores _only_ hunt alone. Didn't you say so, mother?"

"Hmm," the woman closed the picture book she's holding and placed it beside her, "I said they _tend_ to hunt alone. It doesn't mean they always are."

Kyoya tilted his head and lightly bit his lower lip. "I don't like lions."

The woman chuckled. "Whatever you say, darling."

"Mother?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you a carnivore?"

This time, it was his mother's turn to think.

"…Yes. I am. And your father is one, too."

"You hunt too? Animals?"

The raven haired female's smile slightly faltered. "No Kyoya. Not animals."

The boy's eyebrows furrowed. "Then what do you hunt?"

_There's a hint of pain in her eyes_, Tsuna noted as he watched silently, still unable to move.

"Bigger prey. _Other_ carnivores."

Kyoya's eyes widened in innocent wonder as he moved closer. "What kind, mother?"

The gentle smile returned, and the hint of pain in her caramel orbs melted away like wax on a lit candle. "I'll tell you when you're older."

_No way._

Tsuna blinked twice as a bead of sweat travelled down the back of his neck. He was sent ten years in the past – his cloud guardian's past, to be exact. He was surprised why he _wasn't_ immensely surprised at this situation at all, especially when his long-dead great grandfather suddenly appeared before him five minutes ago.

'I see you've figured out that they cannot see you.'

Decimo bit back the girlish yelp he was about to produce when Primo suddenly appeared crouching beside him, his black cape pooling around him like an aura. Now that he mentioned it, he was sitting _directly_ in front of the two Hibaris. Why he chose not to hide was a thing he blamed on his so called 'intuition'.

'If you wish, we could get closer.'

Tsuna dumbly nodded and pushed himself up and scooted closer to the mother and child, together with Primo.

'Hibari-senpai looks thin for his age.' He mused aloud as he scrutinized the young boy's form. 'He looks pale, too.'

Giotto hummed. 'Perhaps he is sick.'

_Sick_?

_('I got a touch of pneumonia.')_

Tsuna almost stepped back as he remembered the time when he met the prefect in the hospital. He got pneumonia, he remembered Hibari telling him. It couldn't be because…

There was a distant sound of a door sliding open – almost inaudible in fact – but Kyoya's mother heard it nevertheless. She tensed up, eyes now locked to the direction of the said noise.

"Hide. _Quick_." Her caramel eyes lost all of its warmth as she rose from her seat slowly. Kyoya bolted to a nearby cabinet, opened it and clumsily climbed up.

"Mother –"

"_Silence_." She ordered with a voice laced with an accent Tsuna had encountered before. Kyoya obeyed without a protest and pulled the cabinet doors but did not close them completely, so that he can see what was happening.

"Don't come out even if you hear me calling," She knelt down to a low table and reached under it, only to pull out a hidden machete. "I'll come back for you."

Tsuna could see Kyoya from the little slit. The boy nodded.

The raven haired woman unsheathed the wide blade and stepped out of the room without a sound, just like a predator stalking its kill. Tsuna followed the long haired woman, feeling a bit worried himself. The moment they stepped out of the room was the only time Tsuna realized just how large the house was. The traditional Japanese-style house had many rooms – empty – Tsuna concluded, seeing how quiet the surroundings were. She turned to the main hallway and he followed when suddenly, the woman took cover, leaving Tsuna confused.

That was, before he saw a man dressed in a suit.

The man is tall and has dark, messy brown hair. He was putting his coat on the rack, when a something gold gleamed on his hand caught Decimo's attention.

It was a ring. A wedding ring, to be exact.

'He's Hibari-san's father.' Tsuna mused aloud again.

The man turned and walked forward and yawned. He has such distinguished features – a handsome man indeed, Tsuna noted, but his features were not of _purely_ Asian descent, unlike Kyoya's mother. His eyes were not almond-shaped, but expressive, like Dino's. He looked more European, especially those grey eyes – so pale that it's almost white.

Tsuna was so engrossed at staring at him that he did not notice mama Hibari charging forward.

'Hiiieeee!' the brunet could have fallen back if it weren't for Primo who caught him by the shoulders.

"Welcome home, dear." The raven haired woman almost hissed.

The grey eyed man was now pinned to the wall, with the machete aimed directly at his neck. Tsuna gulped unconsciously at the sight. This _can't_ be right.

"I'm home." The man answered with a smirk that Decimo recognized – it belonged to Kyoya. Now he knew where the prefect got his smile from.

"Who is my eldest brother?" She asked in a steely tone.

'Brother?' Tsuna repeated. Why was she asking such random questions? What's the point of –

'It's a security question.' Giotto suddenly uttered, as if answering Tsuna's question. 'To know if the other is real. It's a precaution, especially when you're up against mist users.'

"The greatest martial artist of the East, _Feng_." The man answered, and Kyoya's mother relaxed. "Why is our son named Kyoya?"

The woman smiled now and dropped her weapon on the wooden floor. "Because of his eyes and his hair. _Mirror_ and _night_."

The man smirked again and kissed his wife's forehead. "Where's Kyoya?"

"Hiding." She answered and wrapped an arm around his waist. "I thought you were going to work late?"

"No. They cancelled the meeting." He answered and bent over and picked the machete and started walking with his wife.

'That's a surprise.' Giotto put a finger on his chin and then, smiled once more. 'Well, actually, not really. No wonder that child looks a lot like that Arcobaleno.'

Tsuna whipped his head to his predecessor. 'Huh? What do you – _oh_.' The words Kyoya's father had said earlier only began to settle now, and the brunet found himself gaping at the sudden realization. 'He – that woman – _Fon_ – Hibari-san is –'

'Decimo,' the blond patted the younger's head as a way to calm him down, 'Your cloud guardian is the storm Arcobaleno's nephew.'

Tsuna's eyes widened even more at the statement, now that it has been said loud and clear – a declaration of pure truth that he and his predecessor only knows. It sent adrenaline pumping in his veins – he wasn't excited at the least, but nervous.

He didn't know why.

"_Kyoya_!"

Primo snapped his head toward the voice that sounded scared, and before he knew it, a blaze of brown flashed in his eyes.

Tsuna sprinted down the hallway to the room where the six year-old Kyoya were left behind, only to see the boy slightly purplish and grasping his mother's clothes tightly as the latter took him in her arms.

"Oh darling," the woman's voice was shaking as she was clutching something to Kyoya's mouth as the boy tried to inhale deeply, "I'm so sorry, baby…"

Papa Hibari was setting something near the electric socket, his hands fast and precise, as if he had done this so many times before. It was a white box-like contraption, but Tsuna wasn't sure what it is yet, since the brown haired man was blocking his view. He turned to his wife and said, "Bring him here."

The raven haired woman did as told and moved closer to her husband urgently, removing the thing – which was an inhaler, as Tsuna now recognized it – from Kyoya's mouth as the latter hyperventilated still. Decimo moved closer to see too, and finally, had a good look at the white device.

It was a nebulizer.

It was now his turn to get breathless.

His strongest guardian has asthma.

XXX

Tsuna stared at the sleeping six year old with disbelief spelled on his face.

'There's just no way,' He mumbled as he watched Kyoya's chest rise and fall, "He just seemed so…'

'Strong?' Primo finished for him, as he too, gazed at the slumbering boy. 'We all have weaknesses.'

'But in the future, he doesn't seem to show any signs of asthma,' the brunet said, 'Although I saw him once in the hospi –'

_In the hospital. He got pneumonia._

Giotto closed his eyes and sighed. 'Perhaps his system got weakened considerably by his condition.'

Tsuna lowered his eyes as he grasped the significance of this information. Why didn't he bother to ask him that day? Oh. _Right_. He was too busy getting scared. _Pathetic_.

He shook his head in shame.

'You don't have to feel so bad about it,' Primo smiled encouragingly and placed a hand on his shoulder. 'It's alright. He's your strongest guardian, isn't he? I doubt this condition would be able to pull him down so easily. If you say that he hasn't showed any signs of having asthma in the future, then maybe he had outgrown it, somehow.'

Tsuna tried to smile even though Giotto's words did little in lifting his mood.

'Come. Let us go.' the older man motioned him to stand up. 'His story doesn't end here.'

Tsuna opened his mouth to speak as he stood, only to lose his balance and fall to ground, face first.

_Great_. What a perfect time to display his idiocy to the greatest boss the Vongola ever had.

Decimo pushed himself up and rubbed his forehead. 'Giotto-san…'

What he saw next sent him tongue-tied.

"Too heavy?" Kyoya's mother asked as she watched her son holding a spear-like weapon.

Kyoya nodded abruptly. She took the weapon from him.

'Where…?' Tsuna gazed at the scene before him, set in an enormous dojo. He then looked at cloaked man beside him.

'Summer. He's seven here. Seven years old.' Giotto answered quickly. '_Watch_.'

"What about a sword?" She mused aloud and searched for a katana in a trunk full of diverse weapons. "Hmm. Want to try it?"

Kyoya nodded. His mother pulled a short sword with a red sheath and tossed it to him. "Be careful, it's pretty sharp." The boy nodded again and pulled the sheath and revealed the blade to light.

"I don't like how it looks." He says like a whisper, as he tilted it from side to side, admiring its intricate designs. "It wants attention too much."

His mother's lips curved in to a peculiar smile.

"Why don't you teach him some martial arts first?" Tsuna almost jumped at the sudden deep voice, and for a moment he thought the sixteen year old Kyoya was standing beside him, ready to bite him to death for intruding in his personal life, but he realized it was Kyoya's father who spoke. He was sitting near a pillar, and was holding an _uchiha_ fan. "I think you're too excited to teach him to use weapons."

Mama Hibari flushed at this comment, and pursed her lips at her husband, with hands on her hips. "Well, I just thought that…Since Kyoya's not that physically strong…" She was about to say something, but she merely sighed and looked the other way. "Fine, _alright_. You win."

The dark brown haired man chuckled at this. "He might even grow up to be like your brother. He already has the looks. That's a good start."

The raven haired woman eyed him so sharply, that even though she did not look at Tsuna, he flinched at her stare. "Didn't I tell you _not_ to joke about my brother?"

Papa Hibari was about to open his mouth but his wife raised her hand, signalling him to stop. "…I'm sorry. _I'm sorry_. I just…"

"I know," her husband's grey orbs fluttered from her to his son. "I'm sorry too."

Kyoya stared back at his father's grey eyes – a mirror image of his – and wondered why his mother was so upset when father mentioned his uncle who he had never seen before. He was going to ask about his mysterious uncle one of his days, he mused, but today, he has got to train.

"_Li Mei_, do you know how to use tonfa?"

'Li Mei.' Tsuna whispered back as he watched still. So Li Mei is Hibari-san's mother's name.

"Eh? Tonfa?" She repeated and sent him a confused look. "…A bit. Grandpa taught me once when I was little."

"Hn." The older Hibari's grey eyes lingered still on his son. "I think it'll suit Kyoya well."

Li Mei blinked. "But using tonfa are… well…"

"Unconventional?" He continued for her and yawned. "But it's not every day that you see a black haired kid with grey eyes, either." He was standing now, stretching his limbs in a manner that greatly reminded Tsuna of the Hibari-san of his time. "I'm going to take a nap. See you later."

Kyoya stared at his retreating father and wondered what a tonfa was. He had seen myriads of weapons and artillery despite his young age, but not a tonfa. He had never heard of it before, but if father says that it suits him…

"Mother," he asked gently, his eyes focused on his mother's caramel ones, "Please teach me how to use a tonfa."

'It was his father,' Tsuna murmured into air, as Kyoya's mother picked a pair of tonfa from the pile of random weapons and began lecturing the boy about the said weapon. He never had imagined that Hibari-san's father would be the reason for the use of such weapon by the now famous skylark of his time.

'Let us move on.' Like a snap that awakened him from some hypnotic spell, Tsuna averted his gaze to his predecessor. 'Come.'

And when Decimo stood up, he felt like he was falling. As he looked up to ask what was happening, he found himself in a classroom.

'Eight. Elementary. Second grade.' Giotto announced casually, as they stood behind the little Kyoya sitting in his spot at the back, left-hand corner of the room.

Tsuna could do nothing more but nod dumbly and watch his cloud as he sat there, silent, while looking at a picture book.

There was something wrong here.

'Where's everybody?' The brunet asked, turning to Primo.

'Outside, playing. It's break time.' The older man replied gently.

Tsuna's eyebrows came together. 'But why is he…?'

Golden eyes stared back at his caramel ones, glazed with something close to an emotion Tsuna could not identify. 'Why do you think so, Decimo?' And then he patted his shoulder and moved away, his black cape fluttering against the wind. Tsuna could only stare at Giotto's back in confusion.

'Just watch, and you will understand.'

He found himself taking the seat next to Kyoya, obeying what the blond had told him. Kyoya turned the page, and looked at the pictures in it, pretty much disinterested.

'If it's boring, why don't you come outside and play with the other kids?' Tsuna asked, even though the boy could not hear him.

Before Kyoya could turn to another page, he fell into a coughing spell, sending Tsuna standing and moving forward. 'Hibari-san –' he tried to touch him, but his hand just went past through the boy. Decimo's heart started to beat tenfold faster when he heard him starting to wheeze as he tried to catch his breath.

'Wh-Where's your inhaler?' He reached for the boy's bag but he couldn't touch it, _damn it_, he couldn't. Kyoya was gripping the edges of his table now, his chest rising and falling sickly fast, as he tried to stabilize himself. Tsuna's own chest was twisting tight at the sight, his hands not knowing what to do, his mind sent into a mental frenzy.

And before he knew it, he was screaming, screaming for someone to help them, to help Kyoya, but there was no one. Just as when he was about to run out of the room to call for help despite the fact that he knew he would not be seen by anyone, he heard a thud and looked back. The boy had fallen out of his seat, but he was clutching his bag; one hand in it, as if searching for something.

'It's in there?' Tsuna asked worriedly and moved again to Kyoya's side. 'Come on, _come on_…'

He felt like he had been granted permission to enter heaven as soon as the brunet saw that purple inhaler being pulled out of the bag. Kyoya removed the cover of the device clumsily, put it in his mouth, and pushed the canister down, delivering the drug as he inhaled in sync with it.

The relief Tsuna felt was incredible. He released the breath he didn't know he was holding, and slumped beside the panting boy. 'Thank God.' He said, though barely a whisper. 'Geez. Sixteen or eight, you still can scare the life out of me.'

But Kyoya said nothing of course, for he did not hear him. He pushed himself up and dusted his clothes off and sat once again, feeling tired from his sudden asthma attack.

"What are you doing?"

Tsuna jumped at the shrilly voice, while Kyoya merely stared at the speaker.

It was a girl who spoke – a little girl with long, bright red hair, like Enma's, and dark brown eyes similar to Haru's. She has a mole on her chin and another near her left eye. "Why were you lying on the floor?"

Kyoya stared at her with eyes narrowed. "It's none of your business."

The little girl frowned. "You're sweating bullets. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Kyoya frowned too, and automatically lifted his hand to wipe the accumulated sweat on his forehead. "And you can't _sweat_ bullets. Bullets are large. You can't produce bullets with your body. They're metal."

Tsuna laughed out loud at this, and even more when the little girl looked confused.

"That's what my mom tells me when I sweat too much," She tilted her head, as if thinking. "And how do you know bullets are made of metal?"

"I've seen one." He replied with an air of superiority. The little girl's eyes widened at this.

"You're lying! Bullets are used by police!" She reasoned out and put her hands on her waist, her cheeks reddening with annoyance.

"I'm not lying. Father showed me a gun once, and the bullets too." He replied, sending her a sharp look.

"Really?" Her anger had vanished just as fast as it came, and scooted closer. "Your papa is a police?"

"He's part of the Defense Intelligence Department."

'Defense Intelligence?' Tsuna said in unison with the little girl, although the latter couldn't clearly utter the whole word.

"What's that?" the redhead asked in pure curiosity.

"I don't know, but he's part of it and that's what matters." He humped and opened his picture book again.

"That's so cool." The girl smiled, her teeth showing. She pulled a chair and placed it next to him and peered at the book he was looking at. But after a couple of minutes, she got tired of it and proceeded to stare at Kyoya instead.

"It's rude to stare like that." He finally said when he couldn't take it anymore. The girl smiled in response.

"You have pretty eyes." She said and leaned closer for her to see better. "They're the same color as the clouds when it's about to rain."

For a moment Tsuna stopped thinking about Hibari-san's father's position in the government and stared at the now flustered boy in front of him. It was the first time he had seen the prefect blushing, and in embarrassment, at that. He was just so cute, that you'd never expect him to grow up into that fierce, biting machine that everyone dreads.

"I'm Kokubun Yukari." She rose from her seat and smiled still.

For a couple of minutes he didn't say anything, but simply stared at the girl in front of him.

"I…" He began, and then cleared his throat. "I'm Hibari Kyoya."

The girl let out a giggle. "Your name's pretty as well! I'm jealous." She let out another giggle when Kyoya puffed his cheeks slightly and looked away. "Let's be friends!"

'Friends…?' Could it be that he was looking at his cloud's first friend? Tsuna couldn't bring himself to speak at the thought. Maybe he's still friends with this girl in the future. Maybe she even attends Namimori Middle. He couldn't stop himself from smiling. 'Maybe she's some kind of secret girlfriend you have in the future, huh?' Tsuna joked, but mentally slapped himself for thinking such ideas. If the sixteen year old version heard this, he probably had earned a new black eye by now.

"Come on Kyoya-kun, let's play outside!" She took his hand and pulled him, forcing him out of his seat. "It's no fun here!"

Kyoya's protests drowned out in Yukari's excited words as she dragged him out of the classroom. Tsuna followed them with a smile on his face, thankful that he discovered something that was possibly a happy memory for the grumpy prefect.

As soon as Tsuna stepped out of the room, he felt another wave of vertigo overcoming him, and when he opened his eyes, he found no hallways but a familiar bed and a boy on it.

He was in the Hibari household, yet again.

"Didn't I tell you not to play outside?" Li Mei's loud voice was almost frightening, but her eyes betrayed her angry façade; her eyes were glassy from tears. She paused and exhaled, and then shoved some loose hair behind her ear. "I'm not going to teach you any fighting skills anymore. You're not going to learn anything from me. Not _ever_."

"Mother," Kyoya straightened up from his sloppy sitting position, shock evident on his pale face. "You _can't_ do that – this is nothing – I"

"Nothing?" Her caramel eyes were livid again; stinging. "You call this _nothing_, Kyoya? You could have choked to death in that moment if you weren't so – so _naïve_!"

"But I'm alive, aren't I?" His reply was weak. Tsuna could see that he was bargaining; perhaps he did not want to stop his training. "That's enough of a reason to –"

"It's _enough_ of a reason to stop you from playing like a five year-old _and_ training, for that matter." Her tone held an air of finality as she bored holes into her son's sharp, wide eyes.

"You can't do that." He said, unable to look away from his mother's stare. "You can't do that to me!"

"Don't you _raise_ your voice, _child_!" She looked offended and pointed a finger at him, as if warning him. Her chest was heaving, her breathing still fast from the hormones pumping in her veins. "Learn to show some respect!"

"You can't stop me!" His breathing was quickening as well, and Tsuna found himself stepping forward, in between them, but remembered he was just an apparition in this heated argument; a mere spectator.

'Please, please, stop…' The brunet turned his head to Kyoya's mother, who now had a hint of worry in her expression, now that her son has displayed signs of another on-coming asthma attack.

"Y-You can't stop me," Kyoya blurted out and clutched the blankets laying on top of his legs, "I'll get stronger, I'll – I'll show you, I –"

"Li Mei, what are you doing?"

The door slammed open, revealing her distressed husband, who seemed to have arrived from work not long before the argument. His grey eyes darted toward her and to his son who was struggling to breathe again, and rushed to the latter's side. "Calm down, boy." He grabbed the inhaler beside the futon and removed the cap, then placed it on his mouth. "Calm down."

Kyoya took the inhaler and breathed in again as he pushed the canister down.

And that was the time Li Mei had left the room soundlessly, while holding a hand to her mouth to prevent her sobs from becoming too recognized.

XXX

Tsuna felt like he didn't have any right to be in that room.

"Kyoya."

The boy's eyes were downcast, irises gleaming from the lamplight. He did not stir.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you."

It was an order, and his tone was cold and authoritative. Kyoya brought his gaze to his father, and for a moment he felt like he was staring into a mirror, since he saw silver eyes staring back at him – eyes that were strikingly similar to his, but this pair was sharper; hardened by something he was too young to understand.

"You've made your mother cry." He stated simply, and the boy said nothing to disclaim it. "Why?"

Still, the boy said nothing.

"Alright." He shifted and moved closer, "Since you've decided to become mute, I'll tell you why. It's because you're _drunk_ in freedom. You think you've got everything swirling perfectly in your hands – you think you can handle everything, but guess what, kid, you're wrong."

Silence.

"You think you can stop your lungs from killing you? You think you can shout at your mother like that? You think you're _powerful_?" He narrowed his eyes, strengthening his stare, and even to Tsuna, it felt unbelievably severe. "No, you're not. You're just a little speck in the food chain that's waiting to be killed.

"That surge of power you felt – that feeling of dominance – that's all fake. You don't have that kind of authority. You're weak, Kyoya. And you don't have any kind of right to disgrace your mother like that." A pause. "Why do you think your mother stopped your training?"

The boy still did not make any movements nor speak, but his eyes were watering.

"Because she knows you can't handle it. Because she knows you're still weak. You're breakable. Death can come sweeping down and take you with just a snap and you won't even stand a chance."

A sob.

"You have to understand that, Kyoya. I know freedom is intoxicating, it's great to be able to do what you want – to decide for yourself, but you have to understand that we cannot let you do as you please every single time. Don't be a brat. Don't be too rebellious. And don't make girls cry, please." He tossed him a towel and sighed. "Do all of that when you're older. And when that time comes, when we have drilled everything you have to know in your brain, we'll give you all the freedom in the world. So stop crying and wipe that snot off of your face."

The boy did as told once again, and sniffed a couple of times.

"Listen to me," The older Hibari ran a hand through his dark brown locks and looked once again at his son. "I'm not going to stop you from wanting to get stronger. But you have to have patience. Power doesn't pick anyone randomly; you have to earn it, like respect. You have to sweat blood first to have it." Kyoya's eyes shot wide at this and his father waved his hand. "No, no, not literally. It was just a play on words. It means you have to work hard for it. Okay?"

Kyoya nodded.

"Alright." He ruffled his hair and sent him a little smile. "Go rest now. We'll talk again tomorrow."

The boy nodded again, and proceeded to bury himself in the comfort of his futon. Papa Hibari turned the light off and adjusted the blankets covering his beloved son.

"Good night, Kyoya."

He closed his eyes.

"Good night, Father."

XXX

"Are you crazy?" She swatted him on the shoulder, but he didn't even budge. "Do you want your son to kill himself? Are you in your –" He put a finger on his lips, signalling her to lower her voice, and she did, "– _right_ mind? Tell me, what in the world are you up to, huh? Because, I'm sorry, I don't see any logic in this decision."

He sighed and loosened his tie, as he sat on the bed. "Li Mei, the kid is going to kill himself _faster_ if he you don't give him what he wants. It's better if he dies by doing what his heart desires."

His wife's expression twisted from rage to disbelief. He sighed yet again and removed his tie completely, and proceeded to unbutton his shirt. "You and your son – you don't know how to ride on puns and metaphors, don't you?" He shook his head and rose, and walked toward her. "You have to understand that Kyoya wasn't born normal. He was premature – he was weak from the beginning! You can't blame him for wanting to be strong. You might not relate to that easily, but you have to try. Don't take away the one thing he loves because that's all that he has."

She inhaled deeply and tore her gaze away from him. "But what if he hurts himself? What if –"

"Then let him be hurt, if that's the price he has to pay for the thing he wishes to have. Skylarks sing in flight. They sing when they are free. Don't you want to hear what kind of song he's hiding in there, in his soul?"

She blinked. "Kyoya can sing?"

Behind the sliding doors of their room, one Tsunayoshi Sawada facepalmed, and one Vongola Primo laughed.

Tsuna jumped at the sudden deep voice. 'G-Giotto-san!'

'Greetings, Decimo.' The blond man smiled at him lightly. 'I see you've gotten better at stalking our unknowing subjects.'

The brunet merely stuttered as he tried to explain himself, but Primo waved a hand and smiled still. 'I was just joking.' Tsuna blinked and blushed at the embarrassing behaviour he displayed moments earlier. Giotto chuckled again and put a hand on his shoulder.

'So, what have you learned so far?' He asked in a voice so casual, one would never expect they were eight years in the past.

'A lot of things,' Decimo quickly responded. Primo nodded at this. 'A lot of things that I never knew I would have the chance to know about Hibari-san…And things that I think I _shouldn't_ know.'

The blond laughed. 'Well, that was _my_ reaction too when I was acquainted with this _particular_ thing about Alaude…' Tsuna leaned a little bit closer to listen at his revelation, but the older man stopped himself before he could spill the first generation cloud's secret. '…But I don't think he'll be pleased with me if I started showing the skeletons in his cupboard.

'Alright.' Primo straightened up again and started walking. 'Come. History isn't going to show itself to you if you're just standing there.'

Tsuna followed the blond immediately, and he felt that feeling again – that weird, dizzy sensation when he gets transported on one time plane to another.

And he lets that feeling overcome him, and as soon as he knew it, he was in another time but at the same place. He was watching his cloud guardian once again, now a year older. It was not long when he realized that the boy was now home-schooled; for the rest of his elementary days, so it seemed as he listened closely. Primo had told him that perhaps it was because of Kyoya's condition that he had been put in such 'educational state', although it wasn't completely surprising, seeing that the Hibari family was well-off indeed, (as he discovered when they jumped to a particular period when some relatives of Kyoya's father visited them) and spending some notes for their only son comes as easy as breathing.

As time progressed, Tsuna became a witness to the desolated conditions of home-schooling, and he found it particularly lonesome. If being in elementary school as a normal kid was pretty boring in some days but fun all the same, since you get to mingle with other kids, home-school took boredom to the next level _and_, there wasn't even a consolation price. There's just you and the teacher, and books. What surprised him was that Kyoya was alright with it all; he was fine without any kind of social interaction. He didn't complain – which was abnormal, since the sixteen year-old Hibari had displayed, on more than one occasion, an attention span of a five year-old. Pretty ironic, if you ask Tsuna. It was as if all of the patience he could give in his days on earth had been used when he was just a child, and when he hit his teens, patience left his body for good and he became what he is.

And the root of this amazing persistence is a little agreement.

Kyoya had agreed in to a little pact with his father. That contract states that if he was to be trained further on; if he wanted to be stronger, he was to be home-schooled. It was rather brilliant, Giotto had said, since being at home all the time let Kyoya avoid stress and as a result, avoid asthma attacks; it let him focus on strengthening his body. But to be able to stand being alone in that four corners of his room, studying lessons without anyone but his teacher – it was unnerving.

But the little boy, who, later in life would be feared by many and even later on, revered by the underworld, was so set on getting better – _stronger_, that he ignored all of these factors. His motivation was astounding, that even Primo was a bit surprised himself.

And what was equally surprising – no, even more shocking – was that he _was_ able to outgrow the ailment that was keeping him from spreading his wings.

It took all the patience of a lifetime to keep that wild soul jailed in that enormous traditional house he called home. It took him four years to master the art of using the weapon that in the not-so near future, would strike fear to those who see its eerie gleam.

It took him four years – four long years to eliminate his shackles and fly free.

Hibari Kyoya is now thirteen and ready for Junior High.

Tsuna gaped at the transformation. It was so refreshing, but at the same time, terrifying.

Because when a hundred year old man says he can sense bloodlust from a thirteen year-old boy, you might as well believe it.

It might as well be true.

~to be continued~

A/N:

*****PLEASE READ THIS, I IMPLORE YOU*****

**Kyoya's Childhood Asthma**

**Property of Sushibomb**. I merely expanded it a little, but basically, this is her idea. I have no permission to use it at the moment, since she had not replied to my message yet, but nevertheless, **I do NOT claim this idea as mine. It is hers, and the credit for this is all hers.** You might sue me for this, but I already had put this in the disclaimer. I _**DISCLAIMED**_ it already, okay?

'_**Hospitalized**_**', Chapter 29, Volume 4 of the manga**

This is where Hibari-san was hospitalized and said that he got pneumonia. Other scans said he caught the flu or cold.

_**Mirror and night**_

The kanji in Kyoya's name means '_Mirror'_ (the _kyo_; just like in _Kyoka Suigetsu_) and '_Night'_ (the character '_ka'_). I stumbled upon this bit when I was looking for Kyoya's (the one in Ouran) name meaning. I checked if Hibari's name was written like Ootori's and well, they were. I found it in a forum (the website's name… I have already forgotten) so don't rely on this too much. I am no expert in Japanese kanji. And I don't know if the girl in the forum who claims to be Japanese is legit, so yeah. I just thought it was cute, because Hibari has grey eyes which can correspond to the mirror part, and the night because he has black hair.

**Skylarks sing in flight**

A pun. Their surname, '_Hibari',_ means skylark and skylarks are known to sing when they fly.

**Fon and Kyoya's relationship**

Unsurprisingly, Fon might have admitted his connection to our resident tonfa wielder. See the manga, **Volume 31**, in the _Haru Haru interviews section_. This is the translation I got of their conversation:

**Reborn:** Hey, don't you have any questions you want to ask, Haru?  
><strong>Haru:<strong> EH? Of… Of course I have! Fon looks a lot like Hibari-san! Are both of you brothers? Readers had been asking about this a lot as well!  
><strong>Fon:<strong> Heh-heh, we are not brothers...  
><strong>Reborn:<strong> But both of you really _do_ look alike. Perhaps this is how Hibari looks like when he's young...  
><strong>Fon:<strong> ... I know everyone is curious and wondering what relationship we might have, _**but I will not say what is our relationship or he might get angry**__._ Let's change the topic, shall we?

So yeah. That's what he said. It's either they're both gay and Hibari's some kind of a pedophile (LOL) _**or**_ they're blood-related. That's what I think, since it's fairly plausible. *shrugs*

Alright.

Holy mother of shit. 6000 words. 6-_fucking_-thousand plus words about Hibari Kyoya.

BUT WAIT!

THERE'S **STILL** MORE!

Excuse the swearing but, you read right. There will be more. (Be more, LOL) I know, you all might be tired of reading stuff about Kyoya, but… I don't know. I guess I just like writing things about him. Primarily because he's practically an empty character, and that means the writer can come up with tons of shit about him.

I had made a headcannon for Kyoya prior to this one in one of my earlier works but I decided to make another. XD I think you people who had or still have asthma can relate to this. Yours truly has asthma as well, and there wasn't a month that I didn't get sick when I was young. X(

But anyway, enough of that. XD I think you guys know the one thing that makes writers happy… and that's REVIEWS! Please feel free to tell me what you think. Like it, hate it? Say it in the reviews.

Well, see you next time for part 2.

A'right. Think that's all.

Peace out.

~Lulu~


End file.
